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# PRAXIS A-P: Rebuilding trust, influence and search in the age of agentic AI
- URL: https://www.earned-first.com/praxis-a-p-rebuilding-trust-influence-and-search-in-the-age-of-agentic-ai/
- Published: 2026-10-13T04:58:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-13T04:58:00.000Z
- Description: AI is reshaping how people perceive brands, prompting communicators to rethink how they build credibility.
- Author: David Blecken
- Tags: PRAXIS Asia-Pacific, Events, #AI

As social algorithms replace traditional front pages, artificial intelligence synthesises complex search queries, and enterprise AI evolves from drafting text to performing autonomous tasks, established PR playbooks are also in flux.

Three interconnected sessions at PRAXIS Asia-Pacific last week examined how organisations can navigate this fragmented ecosystem. The sense was that in an era defined by automated discovery and fragile consumer loyalty, building lasting influence means shifting from a focus on visibility to verifiable credibility and C-suite alignment.

**The new information gateway**

Opening the discussion on evolving media consumption, Nitin Mantri, APAC president of We. Communications, revealed data from the upcoming 'Future of Communications APAC' report, showing that social networks and video platforms have officially overtaken traditional news websites as the primary gateway to news globally, commanding 54% of audience traffic compared to 41% for publisher sites. However, Mantri noted that the Asia-Pacific region exhibits sharp local contrasts: while Southeast Asia and Australia are heavily social-first, traditional news publishers in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan continue to hold firm.

Across all markets, casual news consumption has risen by 8%, while 48% of under-35s globally now pay greater attention to independent creators than to mainstream journalists. "The journalist has become a creator and the voice matters much more than ever," Mantri observed, pointing out that major regional broadcasters such as Channel News Asia, The Straits Times and NHK are increasingly placing reporters on camera in creator-style formats.

For consumer brands, navigating this shift requires blending earned media authority with agile creator partnerships. Pia Tyagi, senior director of communications and sustainability for Asia-Pacific at Shiseido, said that coverage alone should not be the goal. "The endgame is whether your story is going to get discovered, it's going to get shared, or it's going to get discussed."

Tyagi recounted a 10-day pop-up activation in Bangkok featuring global brand ambassador Lisa (Lalisa Manobal) alongside Indian actress Tamannaah Bhatia. By orchestrating an exclusive interaction between the two stars and offering first access to *Vogue India*, Shiseido sparked a regional media wave that trended organically across multiple markets. "When you have the gravitas, the authenticity, or rather the authority of an earned media combined with the agility and speed of creator, KOL-led and community... magic happens," Tyagi reflected.

This earned credibility has become even more important amid the rise of generative search. While AI chatbots have stripped up to 43% of direct web traffic from traditional news publisher homepages, AI search engines rely overwhelmingly on trusted earned and owned media to generate answers. Mantri highlighted that 89% of citations in generative AI search results originate from earned coverage and owned content rather than paid advertising. With 67% of Gen Z preferring AI tools such as ChatGPT over conventional search engines, 70% of PR professionals now formally treat generative engine optimisation (GEO) as a core communications strategy. "If you aren't earned, you won't exist in AI search results," Mantri warned.

**Engagement vs trust**

High platform engagement does not equal genuine consumer trust. Unveiling findings from the 'Southeast Asia Consumer Tech Trust Study', which surveyed 3,000 respondents across six ASEAN markets, Umaporn Whittaker-Thompson, chief commercial officer ASEAN at Vero, and Ashutosh Awasthi, director of Kadence International, outlined a stark divide between daily utility and audience confidence. High-stakes financial services such as online banking and digital payments enjoy an 81% trust rating, whereas social media and generative AI sit at the bottom of consumer confidence.

"High trust creates high expectations as well," he explained, revealing that 53% of Southeast Asian consumers would abandon financial technology services immediately following a major data breach or security incident. Overall, 42% of respondents across all tech categories stated they would cease using a product straight away if a serious data incident occurred. The research also highlighted regional nuances: consumers in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines are quickest to abandon compromised services, whereas users in Vietnam seem to have greater patience for corporate remediation.

The study exposed a deep scepticism towards corporate crisis communications: barely one in 10 consumers (10%) trust a company’s own explanation during a data breach. Instead, 33% look to independent cybersecurity experts for validation, while 31% seek direct accountability from the CEO. In market-specific findings, Singapore consumers placed the highest trust in government compliance, while Indonesian and Thai users held platforms more accountable.

To address this fragility, Whittaker-Thompson urged communicators to move beyond vanity metrics like reach, downloads and share of voice towards establishing a robust "proof architecture": tangible evidence of data security, transparent governance, and operational compliance. "The key question for us as brands and communicators is to think beyond visibility. We have to move to credibility," Whittaker-Thompson stated, advising organisations to design crisis recovery frameworks in the boardroom long before a reputation is tested.

"Before we design the campaign, the messaging, we need to ask these important questions," she suggested. "Will people believe what I'll be giving them and who they will believe when that trust is tested? The finding from the survey that we have today may not be relevant next year. As a brand, how do we really keep up with the data? If you can ask this very clearly, I think we are helping our clients or brands earn trust."

**Operationalising AI**

As automation tools advance, the operational role of AI in enterprise workflows is maturing. Zoe Knobel, enterprise communications lead at OpenAI, joined Emma Thompson, president of APAC growth at Real Chemistry, to explore how AI is transitioning from simple prompt-and-response text interfaces to real-time voice interactions and persistent autonomous AI agents.

"There's a journey we've been on from generative AI, which effectively enabled people to write better, and now into agentic AI, where the AI can act on your behalf," Knobel explained. Describing her own deployment of proactive AI agents, such as one she named 'Otis', an internal agent that scans overnight emails, Slack messages, and meeting transcripts to deliver prioritised morning action items, Knobel claimed agentic systems act as force multipliers for busy executives.

In healthcare and life sciences, the impact is already profound. With an estimated 80% to 90% of individuals using AI as their initial resource for health queries, AI is streamlining clinical environments. Knobel cited a study of 40,000 medical appointments in Kenya showing that AI integration reduced diagnostic errors by 16% and treatment recommendation errors by 13%. Furthermore, specialized models like GPT-Rosalind are currently accelerating drug discovery, mathematical modelling for cardiovascular research, and stem-cell regeneration studies.

However, enterprise integration requires clear strategic intent. Knobel cautioned against superficial implementations that fail to address underlying operational models. Leading organisations are connecting enterprise-grade AI directly into core platforms like Gmail and Slack, with strategic decisions being made at CEO, CTO, and chief security officer level. Treating AI as a chatbot alone misses its potential, but implementing it fully is likely to be a bigger task than some imagine.

"You can't just bolt AI on an old problem and expect it to work," Knobel warned. "You have to go back and redesign your workflows."